Behind You Is the Sea
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“We desperately need more books like this in which Palestinian people are presented as beautiful, richly complex human beings, not consigned to insulting, diminishing references. Gratitude to Susan Muaddi Darraj for her very necessary, beautiful work.”
Naomi Shihab Nye, poet, editor, songwriter, and novelist
2025 PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FINALIST • ANISFIELD-WOLF BOOK AWARD FINALIST
Washington Post Notable Works of Fiction from 2024 • Booklist Top 10 Debut Novels of 2024 • Ms. Magazine Favorite Books of the Year 2024 • Elle.com The Best Literary Fiction Books of 2024 • The New Yorker Best Books of 2024 • NPR Books We Love 2024 • NPR staffers pick their favorite fiction reads of 2024 • Chicago Public Library Must Read Books of 2024 for Fiction • Kirkus Reviews 20 Early 2024 Books We Love • San Francisco Chronicle Best Books of Winter 2023 • Muslim Girl "12 Palestinian Books that Deserve Your Shelf Space"
""A beautiful portrait of a family reaching for their dreams while holding on to their roots.""—Publishers Weekly
""Each chapter reads like a small masterpiece.""—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
An exciting debut novel that gives voice to the diverse residents of a Palestinian American community in Baltimore—from young activists in conflict with their traditional parents to the poor who clean for the rich—lives which intersect across divides of class, generation, and religion.
Funny and touching, Behind You Is the Sea brings us into the homes and lives of three main families—the Baladis, the Salamehs, and the Ammars—Palestinian immigrants who've all found a different welcome in America.
Their various fates and struggles cause their community dynamic to sizzle and sometimes explode: The wealthy Ammar family employs young Maysoon Baladi, whose own family struggles financially, to clean up after their spoiled teenagers. Meanwhile, Marcus Salameh confronts his father in an effort to protect his younger sister for "dishonoring" their name. Only a trip to Palestine, where Marcus experiences an unexpected and dramatic transformation, can bridge this seemingly unbridgeable divide between the two generations.
Behind You Is the Sea faces stereotypes about Palestinian culture head-on and, shifting perspectives to weave a complex social fabric replete with weddings, funerals, broken hearts, and devastating secrets.
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